Door for appliance cabinets and the like



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 l. G. DUTCHER DOOR FOR APPLIANCE CABINETS AND THE LIKE ali n-11 vnnAlllIIIIIII!!!lvltlllllallllvlllrl March 27, 1962 Filed Aug. 4, 195a Anvenlor val- Gene Dul'cher' qfi'orneys March 27, 1962 1. G. DUTCHER DOOR FOR APPLIANCE CABINETS AND THE LIKE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 4. 1958 ,flnvenlot ,Jvod Gena Dukher J 1401 wlflgwj March 27, 1962 l. G. DUTCHER 3,027,217

DOOR FOR APPLIANCE CABINETS AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 4, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 a F I Anvenlor" Gwe Dulch at" United States Patent ()fiice 3,027,217 Patented Mar. 27, 1962 ware Filed Aug. 4, 1958, Ser. No. 752,814 2 Claims. (Cl. 312--276) This invention relates to a door for appliance cabinets and the like, and more particularly to a bottom hinged closure that is pivoted about a horizontal 'aXis, for eX- ample, in a dish washing apparatus.

Most doors that are mounted on the front wall of an appliance cabinet are'hinged either along the side for pivoting about a vertical axis, or along the bottom edge for pivoting about a horizontal axis. One of the disadvantages in hinging a door at the bottom, about a horizontal axis, is that in fully opened position it occupies the useful space directly in the front of the cabinet, and anyone desiring access to the interior of the cabinet is inconvenienced by this obstruction. Obviously, the inconvenience is greater as the door height is increased, since the area occupied by the door is larger. Another disadvantage of the bottom hinged door is that the handle, which, if on the front in the usual location when the door is closed, is moved to the bottom, in a relatively inconvenient location, when the door is fully opened.

It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a door, hinged on its bottom edge, which reduces the valuable area occupied thereby when fully opened. It is another object of the invention to provide a door for the front of the cabinet which is hinged along a horizontal axis and which presents the handle in a readily available location when the door is open. Further objects of the invention will become evident as the description proceeds and from an examination of the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention and in which similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of a cabinet having a door embodying the invention which is partly broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a side view of the cabinet and door shown in FIGURE 1 partly broken away to show the interior;

FIGURE 3 is a side view similar to FIGURE 2 with the door in its fully opened position;

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIGURE 1.

Referring to the drawings, the door of the present invention is shown as applied to a household dishwashing apparatus of the front opening type. As shown, this apparatus has a chamber It which, whlie it may have any suitable form, preferably will be rectangular in horizontal and vertical cross-section. The chamber 10 is supported in a suitable cabinet 11. Arranged in the lower portion of the chamber 19 is a water circulating impeller (not shown) driven by an electric motor (not shown). Above the impeller (not shown) is a suitable open-work dish-supporting rack 14.

The chamber l is closed at its inner end, at the sides, top and bottom, while the front end 15 is opened to provide for the insertion of dishes to and withdrawal from the chamber. The cabinet 11 is provided with a front opening 16 registering with the opening in the chamber 10.

The front of the cabinet is provided with a door having an upper door section 21 and a lower door section 20 connected by a hinge 22, so that the upper section 21 may be pivoted relative to the lower section 20.

provided with a splash guard 25 which is offset from,

and overlaps to a certain extent when the door is in closed position, the splash guard 24 of the upper section 21. Fastened to the interior of the cabinet is a channel member 26 which embraces the splash guards 24, 25 on the door sections, when the door is closed, as best shown in FIGURE 4 of the drawings. The splash guards and the channel cooperate to prevent the leakage of water around the edges of the door when the water circulating impeller (not shown) of the washing appartaus is in operation. Also, it may be desirable to provide a sealing strip 27 over the hinge 22 between the upper section 21 and the lower section 20 of the door in order to prevent the discharge of water therethrough.

The door carries on each of its side edges adjacent the bottom thereof a pair of pins, one of which is designated and shown as 23 in FIGURE 2. The pins are journalled in seats 29 which are secured to the cabinet structure. In this way the door is pivoted at its lower edge, about a horizontal axis, when opened.

Secured between the upper section 21 of the door and the cabinet 11 is a link 30. The link may be pivotally mounted at 31 to the splash guard 2 at one end, and pivotally secured at 32 to the cabinet structure. As shown best in FIGURE 2, the splash guard 25 is recessed at 34 at its lower end in order to accommodate the pin 32 of link 39. Although only a link at one end is described it should be understood that another identical link may be mounted on the opposite end of the door, as illustrated in the drawings.

Referring now to FIGURE 4, the link. 3% may be of an inverted U-shaped cross-section having legs 36, 37 which are spaced and contain therebetween the splash guards on the door section, as 25 in FIGURE 4. The splash guard 24 is relieved at 39, as best shown in FIG- URE 3, to accommodate the end of link Fill when the door is opened.

The top section of the door has a handle 4t} which is grasped in order to open the door. The handle may have any suitable mechanism 41, shown in FIGURE 1, for locking the door in closed position.

A counter-balancing system may be used with the door. Referring to FIGURES 2 and- 3, a bracket 42 is secured to the side edge of the door. Between the bracket 42 and the cabinet 11 is a spring 43 which is placed under tension as the door is opened.

From the foregoing description, it is believed that the operation of the device is apparent. In order to open the door the operator grasps the handle 46 and moves the entire door downwardly as shown by arrows A in FIGURE 3. The link 30 pivots the upper door section 21 about hinge 22 to a vertical position, as indicated by arrow B when the door is opened. 'It will be noted that in the vertical position the door section 21 reduces the area occupied by the door in front of the cabinet. Also, by pivoting to a vertical position, the upper section of the door presents the handle 40 to a readily accessible location for closing the door. Also, the dish supporting rack 14 may he slid onto the lower section 20 of the door, as shown by arrow C in FIGURE 3.

When the door is closed, the link 30 pivots the upper section 21 relative to lower section 20 to a position in which it is again vertical and with the lower section 20 of the door closes the opening 16 of the cabinet.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, these are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation. Changes in form and the proportion of parts, as well as the substitution of equivalents are contempltaed, as circumstances may suggest or render expedient, Without departing from the spirit or scope of this invention as further defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination: an appliance cabinet, a slidable rack in the lower portion of said cabinet, a door having a lower door section hinged at the bottom portion to said cabinet for movements about a horizontal axis, an upper door section hinged on said lower door section, splash guards mounted on the inner surfaces, and at the sides, of said upper and lower door sections for projecting into said cabinet when the door is closed, and link members at the sides juxtaposed to said splash guards on said lower door section, said link members connected at one end to the bottom portion of said cabinet and at the other end to said upper door section for maintaining said upper door section in a vertical position when the door is opened to a horizontal position, said upper door section and splash guards forming a receptacle when the door is opened to a horizontal position for reception of said slidable rack.

2. In combination: a cabinet having a front wall open- 2 ing therein, a door for said opening hinged about a horiis opened to a horizontal position, said upper door section and splash guards forming a receptacle when the door is opened to a horizontal position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 362,325 Smith May 3, 1887 1,026,792 Fee May 21, 1912 2,038,329 Wells Apr. 21, 1936 2,057,555 Clark Oct. 13, 1936 2,241,179 Brenkert May 6, 1941 2,635,708 Lampe Apr. 21, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 231,290 Germany Feb. 18, 1911 

